In Astra, being a noble means never being allowed to be ordinary. Aleigh has lived a life in which the twin forces of wealth and authoritarian control have shaped him into a person both haughty and repressed. Even though he always seeks to be fair, just and merciful by principle, he is held back by a limited understanding of the struggles of those who had any less fortune than he.

His upbringing was a minefield of emotional abuse never anticipated: a youth framed by parental absence and emotional manipulation from his brother, the King, have not only made him deeply anxious about the intentions of others, but also warped his understanding of familial love, and left him inconsolably lonely. Through his childhood, he learned to repress himself to survive, revealing his innermost feelings only to those he most trusted.

Holding a coveted social position as the Arcane Prince, he's had his fair share of sycophantic false friends. Now he keeps to himself, paranoid that no one would simply befriend him for who he is, instead doing so for their own gain. At the Central Circle School, where the highborn are normally beloved by all, he pushes attention away through acerbity and deliberate avoidance of company.

Instead, he turns to books for company: he is an avid reader attuned to the nuance and artistry of novels. Most never find out that Aleigh is capable of unprecedentedly deep loyalty and affection, which he extends exclusively unto those who manage to bypass his icy defences.

Story

Astra has two heads of state—the Arcane and Ordinary Diarchs. The Arcane Diarch is elected from among the eight noble families of Astra, one of which Aleigh happened to be born of—the Luzernos. The Luzernos were involved in the merchantry business, and his father Coro was constantly away from home, managing his burgeoning businesses. Because both he and his older brother Aligon were eligible to be elected to the Arcane throne, both of them were trained throughout their childhoods to hold the bearing of kings.

Shrewd and machiavellian, Aligon found his calling as a politician early, and not long after he was elected to the seat of Arcane King at the young age of twenty-nine. The Luzernos became the Arcane royal family for that term, and Aleigh came to be the Arcane Prince.

With his brother's ascension came a shift in the family's power dynamics: Aligon grew into his role quickly and began to take on the role of head of the Luzerno household. Anxious to remain in possession of his throne, and aware that the presentation and bearing of not only himself but also his entire family were essential to succeeding as a politician in Astra, Aligon began to dictate almost every aspect of Aleigh's life, making garment choices on his behalf and requiring him to submit all his timetables and activities for vetting.

This excess of external control in his life shaped him irreversibly, as did his newfound visibility as the Arcane Prince and the presumptive heir to the Arcane throne.

While Aleigh and Aligon are siblings, the combination of Aligon's far greater age and his position as Arcane King (and the pressures thereof) has warped it beyond recognition. In some ways Aligon has come to see Aleigh as a liability to his reputation, and is always desperate to keep a tight leash on his behaviour in case missteps on his part have repercussion on the diarch's, and the family's, reputation among the public. Aleigh doesn't quite know if he obeys out of habit or fear of emotional abuse, but he is starting to resent this.

Aleigh's flying mount, a winged equine named Benedice, is almost always in his company since he is his main means of getting from one place to another. Docile but independent, Benedice is quite intelligent and plays his part in keeping strangers at an arm's length from his master.

Aleigh's relationship with his mother, Talia, must make up for his lack of a relationship with his father. Or so that is what one might think, considering how much closer he is to her than to Coro. Talia, once the mayoress of Linterna, always took the pains to be present for her children despite her schedule. Aligon did not particularly acknowledge the effort, but Aleigh became very attached to her.

Aleigh's classmate Ruthenia has been a great source of annoyance and frustration ever since their paths crossed when he asked a favour of her. She has absolutely no regard for his status and is happily and pointedly insolent to him—specifically because he is the Arcane Prince of Astra. As one whose life was directly screwed over by the previous diarchs, it stands to reason she would have an aversion to all associated with the seats of power—but this is too much for him.

Though he mainly knows Hollia through Ruthenia, the two are more similar to each other than either of them is to Ruthenia, in their politeness and general inability to hold any but the most stilted of conversations. Hollia, subscribing deeply to notions of class differences, is always somewhat flustered to be speaking to someone of his position, and her attitude towards him—despite them being, as Ruthenia frustratedly notes, more similar than different—is one of utter obsequiousness.

Trivia

Aleigh was named after a typo of the word "alright".

His symbol is the swan—the national animal of Astra. Many think of swans as elegant, but they are also ferocious and protective when the situation arises. He is much the same.

Aleigh's elevated position has also inspired in him very modest aspirations: he dreams of working as an archivist or secretary for a governmental organisation and starting a family.

In addition to the theory of politics, literature and philosophy, Aleigh has been taught a host of skills throughout his childhood and teenhood; among them are swordfighting, riding, singing and calligraphy.

An intelligent and well-read student, he excels in Literature classes but stumbles when it comes to mathematics of any sort.

His favourite genres of fiction are historical, romance and historical romance.